Wild Cards
by steer2justice
Summary: They had all the power in the world. However, they were also vastly different. Who were they? Can anyone truly say?
1. Death

Minato Arisato.

He went by many names. He was, in the purest sense of the word, a juggernaut of power.

However, he did not seem like it.

There was this... air of mystery around him. It could be due to the fact that he rarely spoke, only speaking when he needed to. It could also be the fact that he was always guarded around everyone.

As if there was a huge distance between him and the world.

That pair of silver headphones seemed synonymous with his very presence. He would almost always be listening to music, placing his hands in his pockets as if he was without a care in the world.

As if nothing ever fazed him.

And nothing really ever fazed him. Minato Arisato was good at everything, although he never did excel in anything.

Everything and nothing. A Jack of all trades.

There were moments when you could feel as if you truly understood him, and there were moments in which he seemed like a total stranger.

He could be anything you needed him to be.

A Messiah.

A boyfriend.

A best friend.

A leader.

He could be any of these things.

He could be anything.

Why?

There was no reason why.

It's simply because he can do it.

Still, there were moments in which Minato Arisato became a total monster.

He didn't say or do anything monstrous, of course, but... you could feel it.

The way he destroyed Shadow after Shadow without batting an eyelid. Holding the Evoker in his hand, he twirled it effortlessly (He had always been stylish, that much could not be argued.) and, pointing the gun on his temple, pulled the trigger.

Yukari would hesitate when she did so. That brief pause before she pulled the trigger was telling of her personality, more than anything else. She had too much to live for, too much to lose.

Junpei wouldn't hesitate, of course. That was unlike him. He would be overly enthusiastic to do so, to point the Evoker on his head and call forth Trismegistus. He always felt fulfilled when he did so, as if he truly was a hero, and it would take him away from bitter memories of abuse and neglect. Of course, he mellowed out after Chidori's death, but there was always this enthusiasm in his fighting style.

Akihiko wanted to become stronger, and he pulled the trigger with the same motivation driving him to defeat everyone in the boxing ring. He matured after Shinjiro passed on, after events had forced him to realize that protecting the ones you love required more than brute strength. Still, there was always this feeling of power and dominance whenever Akihiko summoned Caesar. Perhaps this was simply the power of the Emperor Arcana.

Not Minato, however.

The way he pulled the trigger was cold and clinical, as if he was not doing anything that would put his life at risk. He did not fear for his life at all, and, almost in contrast, fighting seemed to be when Minato Arisato was most alive.

How can you summon your Persona with such emptiness, yet fight with so much ferocity and strength?

He always was a paradox.

An unexplainable paradox.

And when he passed on, to protect the world, SEES would look back and realize one thing.

That they had never truly understood who Minato Arisato was.

That no one was capable of understanding him besides himself.

Yukari would always insist that he was the best boyfriend that ever lived on this planet.

Mitsuru and Fuuka would definitely agree with that sentiment.

Heck, even Akihiko Sanada, who was never all that close with Minato Arisato, would agree that he was one hell of a person.

But as to who Minato Arisato truly was? They had no idea, even after fighting alongside him for a year.

In the end, Minato Arisato was a mystery.

He would never be understood.

And he liked it best that way.


	2. Fool

Hamuko Arisato.

It's a good thing you would only meet one or the other, in your reality, depending on how lucky you are.

It was a total contrast. Light and Shadow. Red and Blue.

Minato Arisato was cool and collected, while Hamuko Arisato was loud, bubbly and outgoing.

Minato Arisato topped the class every semester, while Hamuko Arisato, while not failing as badly as Iori, was doing pretty averagely.

Minato Arisato hated talking. He always seemed to be in his own world, having a gap that could not be bridged by anything. On the other hand, Hamuko Arisato would be the epitome of closeness. She would, without any hesitation, hold your hand and bring you out to dinner, when the whole world would much rather ignore you.

She could connect with anyone, and anything.

And she was always smiling.

She had so much love for everything, the world, her friends, everything.

In essence, she loved life herself.

One would normally equate Minato Arisato to Death. Cold, clinical death, that brings forth change in everyone, manifested through the aspect of social links. That same person would definitely equate Hamuko Arisato to a Fool.

Blindly optimistic.

Hell, she didn't even protest when Yukari had that hair-brained idea to head to the outskirts of Port Island Station.

New beginnings.

She brought forth new beginnings to everyone. Akihiko could finally find out what it's truly like to be loved. Shinjiro could show his other side, the more vulnerable and caring side, without fear of being laughed at. Ryoji could understand what it truly meant to be human, to feel love for another being.

When Messiah was the best persona for Minato Arisato, the one that resonated most with Hamuko was Orpheus Telos.

That's how important strong bonds, strong friendships, and a love of life itself is for her.

And she hated fighting.

She wasn't as "devil-may-care" as Minato Arisato was. There was always this hesitation inside her, that made her instinctively hold her chest as she shot herself.

Unwillingly, but it had to be done.

Junpei wanted to feel fulfilled with the Dark Hour. Takaya felt that the Dark Hour gave a person purpose.

She hated the Dark Hour. So much death.

They were always opposites. The bumbling, clumsy little sister, and the perfect, genius older brother. (Although they were twins, so "older" and "younger" could not be really all that definite.)

Sometimes, you might doubt what you're seeing, like with every Wild Card.

How can anyone be this perfect and cheerful?

Hell, she was even optimistic when Shinjiro went into a coma.

Sometimes, you can see the crack behind the smile.

She was always smiling.

Was it a genuine smile, or was it a smile to cloak the sadness, the loss of everyone important to her?

Maybe SEES did not know Hamuko Arisato as well as they thought, after all.

Maybe she was like her brother, cold, mysterious and distant, with all the contrasts merely red herrings.

Maybe the smile was just another mask.

You know what?

That's what exactly made her genuine.

The falseness in truth.

She had to keep smiling, in order to keep living.

That was what "living" meant for Hamuko Arisato.

Whereas Minato Arisato allowed the death of his family to detach him from the ones around him, so that they could be close, but not too close, Hamuko Arisato chose to face it head on.


	3. Star

Souji Seta.

He was easily the most normal of the bunch, even though he was special in his very own way.

He didn't need to be the avatar of Death to be himself.

He didn't need to be the Messiah to be himself.

He didn't need to be loved by everyone to be himself.

Indeed, one could argue that Souji Seta had the best grasp over his personality, his thoughts and his actions.

It was not always like this, however.

Once, Souji Seta felt that he was always alone.

That he would never truly have anyone beside him, that he would never have true friends and family.

Perhaps it was the toll of his lifestyle. He was always drifting from place to place, after all, due to his parents' work. He never really had the chance or the opportunity to grow close to other people.

As time went by, he turned that slight resentment into a cool mask of perfection.

The mask that would last him through meetings and partings, the mask that would shield him from being sad, from crying over the fact that he would never find a friend to call his own.

People flocked around him, of course. He had always been especially charismatic, unconsciously even. He could emphasize and feel deeply for other people, and underneath that stoic front, was a soul that was sensitive beyond compare.

How else did he know what problems his friends were facing all the time? How else could he understand Yukiko Amagi's dilemma over choosing to break free and follow her path, or subject herself unwillingly to tradition? How else could he understand Chie Satonaka's desperate bid to find strength, to protect those she held dear? How else could he understand Nanako's desire for family?

He could put himself in the shoes of anyone, and slowly, his personality grew to become all-compassing.

And he was the epitome of a leader.

He didn't actively want to lead, of course. However, he would somehow find himself always taking on leadership roles, in schoolwork, in projects, in everything that he did.

And he found himself liking it. The fact that people depended on him made him happy, in a sense.

All Wild Cards are paradoxes.

Minato Arisato could be seen as being quiet and distant, but he exhibited another side of himself in battle, in smiting everything in his path.

Hamuko Arisato could be seen as being happy, bubbly and fearless, but she exhibited another, more vulnerable side to herself at times, especially when no one else was around.

Souji Seta wanted to keep others away from him, hence the mask, so that he didn't have to be hurt any longer. However, he found himself actively reaching out to them, helping them, leading them.

And he came to Yasoinaba with the same mentality.

He told himself to get it over with. That he should not grow too close to anyone in Yasoinaba. After all, after some time, he would be leaving, and most likely, never returning to this rural, homely town.

Entering the television had been a total accident, and it spiraled into something bigger.

And in saving others, in helping people conquer themselves, Souji Seta began to understand one thing.

That he didn't need a Shadow.

He had already conquered his fear of being alone, a long time ago.

The Star inside him shone brightly, removing all traces of fear and doubt.

In the end, he reached out to the bright, inner strength inside himself.

It gave him serenity.

It gave him peace.

And most importantly, as Souji Seta looked at the people he had already helped and saved, it gave him proof of his existence.

That he was important.

And that he would never truly be alone.

Souji Seta did not need to be a Messiah to be himself.

Why?

Because he had already found out who he truly was.

An exceptionally normal human being, with the capability of understanding everyone.

And that was what made him exceptional.


End file.
